Premature aging in people living with HIV (PLHIV) is associated with increased geriatric syndromes, such as frailty. Frailty is characterized as a condition of greater vulnerability to stressors, falls, hospitalizations, and even death. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate the occurrence of pre-frailty and its possible associated factors in PLHIV aged 50 years or older attended in a Specialized Care Service (SAE) in Paraná. This is a cross-sectional study, approved by the Ethics Committee under protocol number 4.579.204, including 50 eligible participants for application of the Fried frailty phenotype criteria. Validated instruments were used to collect clinical, functional, behavioral, and laboratory data, including measures of muscle strength, mobility, nutritional status, comorbidities, depressive symptoms, and antiretroviral therapy use. The occurrence of pre-frailty was 44% (95% CI: 30.2–57.8), and no participant was classified as frail. Pre-frailty was more frequent among women (59.1%), participants of other (non-White) races (86.4%), those with up to eight years of schooling (77.3%), those without a partner (83.3%), those with income up to one minimum wage (40.9%), and smokers (31.8%). Despite these proportions, none of the variables showed statistically significant association with pre-frailty (p > 0.05), which may be attributed to the sample size. Still, findings suggest more vulnerable profiles to pre-frailty among adults aged 50 years or older living with HIV/AIDS. The number of comorbidities was significantly lower in the pre-frailty group (p = 0.043). The prevalence of sarcopenia was 24%, higher among participants with pre-frailty (31.8%). Most participants had good ART adherence, with viral suppression in 91.8%. The results indicate the need for early screening of frailty in PLHIV aged 50 years or older, even in the absence of immunological alterations or severe comorbidities. Pre-frailty, due to its reversible nature, represents a window of opportunity for interventions promoting healthy aging and preventing adverse outcomes. The study reinforces the importance of integrating geriatric assessment into clinical practice in specialized HIV services.
Bregonde et al. (Sun,) studied this question.